Never Met A Kinder Heart
by Dark Ride
Summary: The longest night of the year is far from uneventful when one is living in the Dark Castle as the Dark One's maid. A Rumbelle Secret Santa fic.


This one is for bramblebriarrose, their prompt was "Journeys end in lovers meeting". The title of the fic comes from Nightwish's song Ghost River.

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><p>One of the things that had surprised Belle at first about her new living situation as the Dark One's caretaker was the lack of strict rules. No touching anything in his working room unless told and keeping away from certain objects was the extent of it. Otherwise she was allowed to handle anything and go anywhere in the castle as she needed although she did prefer staying within the beautiful library once her duties (which were considerably light as well) were done.<p>

The same lack of restrictions extended to the rest of the castle's grounds with the exception of the old well in the courtyard. Rumplestiltskin told her briefly she was not to approach it under any circumstances and left it at that and although Belle was curious as to the reason behind the order, she knew better than to disobey just to satisfy her curiousity.

There was also the fact that the winter in the mountains was harsher than what she was used to and she was quite happy not to have to trudge out every day into the cold just to get water from the well. The pump in the kitchen worked without any problems, either due to the magic or ingenious engineering, and the well figured into Belle's thoughts only on the rare occasions when she glanced out of one of the windows and her eyes landed on it.

It didn't happen often and so she failed to notice that the few birds that stayed in the castle's grounds - lured in by the seeds that Belle was leaving for them regularly - never perched on either the roof nor the rim of the well. It just stood in the middle of the courtyard, empty and devoid of life.

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><p>"Is there anything in particular you want for tonight's dinner?" Belle asked Rumplestiltskin on the morning of Yule as she cleaned up after their breakfast. They had started taking their morning and evening meals together by the end of the first month on his suggestion. He said it was so she would have more time for her other duties but Belle suspected it was because he had come to enjoy her company.<p>

When it came down to it, Rumplestiltskin was just a man who had been alone for far too long. And maybe it was foolish of Belle to feel sympathy for him, knowing full well just what he was capable of but it wasn't like she could help herself. Yes, he could be cruel and vicious but he could also be kind and it was that spark of kindness that Belle was determined to keep alive and help it grow once she had seen it was present in him.

"I won't be joining you tonight," he said and Belle felt a sharp stab of disappointment.

"But it's Yule," she said quietly. "I thought everyone kept that tradition."

The night of the winter solstice, the Yule, marked that the half of the winter had passed. After this night, the days would be getting longer and nights shorter, the time ticking off towards the spring and light and life. People in all the kingdoms usually gathered on the eve of the night, having a feast to celebrate the milestone and welcome the sun back. In Belle's home, it was the night when all inhabitants of the castle came together in the great hall, from her father and herself down to the last servant. It was one of Belle's favourite times of year and although her current household consisted of two people only, she had still expected things to go similarly to her old one.

"I stopped celebrating a long time ago," Rumplestiltskin said flatly, even though he peered at her worriedly. "You are welcome to make anything you like for yourself, dearie, but I will be too busy to join you."

"Busy?" she asked.

"It's one of the most magical nights of the year. There are certain things, certain rituals, that can only be done during a solstice."

"Oh, I see," she said. Of course his work came first and she had no grounds to feel disappointed by his upcoming absence. No matter how loose he made the rules for her conduct, she was still his servant and he had no obligation towards her. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes, tomorrow. And dearie," he called after her. "Keep away from anything magical tonight. For your own safety. I'd hate to look for another maid so soon."

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><p>Maybe it was homesickness, maybe some other reason, but Belle spent the better part of the day in the kitchen, preparing the traditional meals from her homeland. She was becoming a rather good cook, if she could say so herself. She made enough for two people, some part of her hoping Rumplestiltskin would join her for at least a short time. Maybe he wasn't the only person in the castle who was lonely.<p>

He didn't come down in the usual time for the dinner, though and Belle resigned herself to spending the evening on her own. She should tidy up after her own meal but in a fit of carelessness decided to leave it until morning. There wasn't much to clean after one person.

Belle shook her head. She was being too sullen. So what if she had to eat her dinner on her own, she ate all of her midday meals that way. She missed her usual companion, true, but that was no reason to sulk. It was probably just a result of being reminded of her home and people there. She had left so many behind, what kind of person would she be if she didn't miss them now and then. Especially on a day like this.

Justifying it to herself didn't help the loneliness Belle felt at all but it did make her feel a bit better. She decided to head to the library and lose herself in someone else's adventure for an hour or two.

The curtains on the hallway windows were all drawn close except for one and Belle peered outside at the courtyard as she yanked it closed. It was an unconscious movement born of habit. The window had a view of the courtyard and it looked beautiful, covered in snow with the light of the waxing moon reflecting off the white. The stillness of the view had never been disturbed and Belle already turned away from the window when she realized there was something different about it.

Looking out again, Belle stifled a gasp. Sitting on the rim of the stone well was a woman. She was partially hidden in the shadow of the well but her head and upper torso were visible beneath the moonlight.

Belle didn't really think twice about her actions. There was someone outside in the middle of winter, someone who needed help if the slumping shoulders of the figure were any indication. People rarely visited the castle and always had a good reason for it. If the journey in this weather had exhausted this woman and she was taking a short rest before having to face Rumplestiltskin, well, Belle could at least offer her a hot tea and something to eat. In hindsight, it would have been better to call on Rumplestiltskin but Belle didn't want to disturb him from his work. She could always do that later if the situation proved to be too much for her to handle, she thought.

"Hello? Can I help you?" Belle called out as she walked into the courtyard, her cloak wrapped securely around herself. The woman at the well raised her head and looked her up and down.

"You are not the Dark One," she stated in a strangely musical voice. "Who are you?"

"I am his maid, Belle," she introduced herself, her suspicions of someone looking to make a deal confirmed. "He is attending other business right now but if you want, you can wait for him inside."

"He is not here?" the woman asked.

"He is, it's just..." Belle trailed off as she noticed how the woman had no cloak of her own. Just an old-fashioned tunic with partially undone laces at the throat. Belle couldn't see her legs as the rest of the woman's body was hidden behind one of the decorated pillars that held up the well's roof but suspected there wasn't much covering there either. And yet the woman showed no signs of being cold.

A witch, then. Or someone magical. And Belle recalled Rumplestiltskin's earlier warning about avoiding magic on this night.

"You are afraid of me, child," the woman said and smiled, although it was an incredibly sad smile. "Why?"

"I'm not afraid," Belle said and it wasn't exactly a lie. She wasn't afraid, just cautious. "I'm just wondering why you're not cold without a cloak."

"I am a fay born of water, child. Snow is just a water, too. My element cannot harm me, no matter its form."

The woman, or rather, the fay scooped up a handful of snow. It wasn't melting in her hand and she dropped it back to the ground. As fascinating as it was - and it was fascinating as the fay no longer mingled with humans as they once used to - Belle had to remind herself that the visitor must have come for a purpose.

"Should I call the Dark One for you?" she asked. The fay would be fine outside, probably more comfortable too.

"He knows I am here. He has known about me since he settled here," the fay replied, her face clouding over. "He ignores my presence, ungrateful as all of his kind."

Belle didn't have a reply to that and thought that if the fay felt that strongly about Rumplestiltskin, then maybe Belle's presence was unwelcome, too.

"Shall I leave you then?" she asked and was surprised when the fay reached out to her suddenly.

"No, stay! Please," she begged, her eyes fearful. "The Dark One ignores me when I am free and I am so alone all the time. Please."

Something tugged at Belle's heart. A spark of pity, of compassion. The fay were supposed to be powerful but they too, it seemed, had their share of burdens and suffering.

"I'll stay," Belle reassured the fay who smiled in relief.

"Thank you, child."

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><p>Conscience wasn't something that had bothered Rumplestiltskin in the past few centuries. The end justifies the means, he would tell himself. It is the right thing to do, he would repeat. And if he had a twinge of remorse for some of the things he had done, he would sweep it aside with a long practice.<p>

And yet.

Belle had been disappointed when he had told her he wouldn't join her for dinner. It was a triffle, really. And he would have thought she would be happy not to have to suffer his company for the evening. But she had been disappointed. And the fact that he felt guilty for causing that disappointment was disturbing.

She was his maid, his caretaker. She was there to dust and sweep and make his meals. She wasn't there to smile at him at breakfast and laugh at his jokes and read books from the library he had given her and to be disappointed when he couldn't eat the dinner with her.

Belle was an anomaly in his carefully ordered life. Even when he was supposed to capture the solstice darkness - a delicate process requiring much concentration on his part - all he could think about was the slight downturn of her lips when he had told her he wouldn't be dining with her. His watching of her lips was an alarming trend of itself. They would smile or purse or move when she spoke and it was immensely distracting.

Rumplestiltskin sighed and poofed away the half-filled vial of darkness. He could sacrifice an hour of his time to spend in her company, if only to assuage his conscience. And maybe to make her smile. Just a little bit.

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><p>"I built this castle, a thousand years ago," the fay who had introduced herself as Melusine told Belle. "I made it for my husband, a human noble who swore he loved me. I gave him this castle and I gave him many sons and all I have asked in return was his trust."<p>

Belle was familiar with that story but she let the fay speak. Sometimes it felt good to tell someone else about your troubles and Belle was a good listener.

"One day in a week, I would have to assume my true form, to keep my magic alive and working. I asked him not to see me on that day, as my true form can be considered monstrous by some. He kept that promise for many years but when our youngest son was born, he had golden hair, unlike the rest of the children. The advisors told my husband the boy wasn't his, that I entertained lovers on our day apart and the fool believed them. He spied on me and when I caught him, he begged for forgiveness. And I was a bigger fool then because I granted it."

Melusine looked away and Belle stepped a little closer. Not only so she could hear better but so she could confirm the legend she had heard in her childhood. Melusine was dressed in an old-fashioned tunic but she had nothing covering her lower half. Not that she needed a covering, certainly not for a decency's sake.

Melusine was a fay. She wasn't human and she didn't look like one. Not with her lower body being that of a snake, coiling up from inside the well.

"You do not look disgusted, child," she said wonderingly. Belle shrugged and pulled the cloak tighter around herself. The wind was picking up and she was getting cold but she didn't want to leave yet.

"That is who you are. You can't help who you were born. And I know about your story. It's not a surprise or a shock."

"I see," the fay spoke. "You are unexpectedly wise for someone so young. If only other people could be so. My husband called me a foul serpent in front of the whole court, cursing his fate for binding him to me. I could not have forgiven him for that one and I left, never coming back while he lived. I do regret but one thing."

"And that is?"

"Leaving my children. When I came back, most of them had gone away and those who remained didn't remember me at all. I was just a strange woman who knew their names."

"Melusine," Belle started to say as she reached out to the woman, to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder because everyone would feel better with a hug but something yanked her back.

"What do you think you're doing, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin hissed and Belle turned her head to demand why he thought grabbing her like that was alright but he was glaring at Melusine. Who reared herself back so that more of her snake-like body came out of the well and she was glaring right back.

"I was talking with the first decent person to set foot in this castle for centuries, Dark One."

"Talking, really? Not luring her closer so you could drag her down with you and drown her?"

What? Belle whipped her head back to look at Melusine who looked offended at that.

"I am not a nixie, fool. Can you not tell that much?"

"I can tell that on this night you are free of your self-inflicted curse and-"

And Belle had had enough. Melusine's face, who up until then had been sad, was starting to twist with fury and hatred. Belle had an inkling of just why that was so.

Ungrateful as all of his kind.

I gave him this castle and I gave him many sons and all I have asked in return was his trust.

Melusine had been hurt deeply and she was about to lash up against this newest hurt, this newest mistrust. And Belle was having none of it. Pushing past Rumplestiltskin, she caught Melusine's hand and laid it against her own cheek.

"Belle?"

"Child?"

She heard them both but she addressed Melusine.

"Did you know that my father's family can trace their origins to your third-born son? The bloodlines are important to noble families and can be traced as far as a thousand years into the past. She couldn't hurt me if she wanted to," Belle told Rumplestiltskin, feeling the tension leaving the hand she held. "She promised to keep watch over her descendants."

Melusine lowered herself and peered at Belle's face in wonder.

"Yes, your eyes, they are the colour of my spring on Avalon. Child, you..."

Belle didn't know if what she was doing was right but something in her pushed her on and she decided to trust her instincts.

"I don't know much, only the stories I was told as a child but it was said Raymondin spent the rest of his life regretting the words that sent you away. He closed himself off in the castle you gave him and lived in solitude until his last day."

"There is a tomb beneath the northern tower," Rumplestiltskin said suddenly and Belle turned to face him, only to see him eyeing her with a strange expression. "It's the only grave on the grounds here. It could be his, it's certainly old enough."

"Why would you help me, Dark One?"

He shrugged and spread his arms elaborately.

"Well, certainly not from the kindness of my heart. But I think if you reconcile with him, you will break your own curse and that means you'll be gone from my castle. That sounds like a good deal to me."

"Thank you," Melusine said and she rose from the well, her tail coiling many times before it was all on the ground. She paused then, looking at Belle.

"Melusine?" Belle asked and the fay leaned over to kiss her forehead.

"My blessings to you, child. For your kind words and understanding heart. May you always be that way."

The snow rose from the ground and swirled around the fay and then it was gone, a strange whistling sound being heard from the wind before it, too, died away.

"I hope she will find what she's looking for," Belle said and then Rumplestiltskin was in front of her, looking her all over.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous a stunt you just pulled?" he snarled. "A fay, Belle, a gods damned fay. What if she wasn't so benevolent? I wouldn't have made it in time to save you and I-" he cut himself off, looking fairly disturbed by something and with the same strange insight that had led her earlier, Belle took his hand in her own.

"And you would have to look for a new maid, I know. I'm sorry, I'll try to be more careful next time. She just looked so sad and lonely."

He looked down at their joined hands and then at her face and then his own face smoothed over and he sighed.

"Your kindness will be your undoing one of these days, dearie."

"No," Belle spoke up and smiled sadly. "Not my kindness but someone else's cruelty."

Rumplestiltskin stared at her for a moment that stretched for not nearly long enough. It was starting to snow and Belle shivered despite her cloak and he let go of her hand suddenly.

"Let's go inside and have some tea."

"What about your work?" Belle asked as she followed him inside.

"I think I'll stay with you until you go to sleep. At least that way I won't have to worry about what kind of a monster you'll be saving next. There are too many roaming free tonight."

"But not in this castle," she said firmly and when he was about to protest she stated decisively. "There are no monsters in this castle, Rumplestiltskin. I know that for sure."

Behind them, a small owl glided down and perched on the roof of the stone well, looking around for a prey before taking flight again.


End file.
